Afghans Want Peace: A 2013 Roundup

Last reviewed: November 2026

In 2013 Cambridge Now published a short feature titled "Afghans want peace" that gathered two items from Afghanistan: a small armed group giving up its weapons, and a peace music festival organized by a local radio station. A foreign-policy news site later cited the feature in a November 2013 article. This page summarises what the donor page quotes and points out what remains unverified.

Quick facts

The two items

A group lays down arms. According to the excerpt, 15 fighters led by a man named Mullah Basir surrendered to police. Basir said he had never been against the government and had picked up arms because of personal grievances with some officials. The group handed over two rocket launchers, a machine gun and other explosives, and was offered monthly stipends and places in a six-month vocational training program.

The Peace Music Festival. Youth FM, an Afghan radio station, organized the festival, which brought young men together around music. No further details are verified.

The news source

Pajhwok Afghan News, based in Kabul, is Afghanistan's largest independent news agency. It reports around the clock, with eight regional bureaus and a national network of reporters, and publishes in English, Pashto and Dari. Danish Karokhel, its founder and director, received the 2008 CPJ International Press Freedom Award.

What is not verified

Because this page relies on a quoted excerpt, it gives no date for the surrender, no location, and no figures beyond those above.

Frequently asked questions

How many fighters surrendered? Fifteen, according to the excerpt.

What did they receive? Monthly stipends and places in a six-month vocational training program.

Who organized the Peace Music Festival? Youth FM, an Afghan radio station.

Where did the story first appear? The surrender was reported by Pajhwok Afghan News.

Sources

Wikipedia article on Pajhwok Afghan News; the quoted excerpt on the donor page.